NEW LONDON, CT – Kristi Noem, the United States Secretary of Homeland Security, made some major announcements during her keynote speech at the 144th Commencement Exercise at the Coast Guard Academy in New London on Wednesday.
Noem kicked off her 25-minute address by calling the 262 cadets of the class of 2025 “Rock Stars” for their experience navigating the COVID-19 crisis as they began their 200 weeks of training in 2021.
She ended by announcing the agency’s new leadership. She said Admiral Kevin Lunday, the current acting commandant, has been named the academy’s new permanent commandant.
Admiral Kevin Lunday, the Coast Guard Academy’s new commandant, addresses the class of 2025’s 262 graduates Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at the 144th Commencement Ceremony at the US Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. Credit: Screengrab / US Coast Guard Academy
Lunday was named acting commandant in January when President Trump fired the previous commandant, Admiral Linda Fagan, just days into his second term.
Noem also said that the graduates were the first class of the Trump administration’s new Coast Guard.
“When President Trump asked me to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security, the goal was very simple,” Noem said. “Our mission is to make America safe again and to do so with honor and with integrity. A top priority of that goal is transforming the United States Coast Guard.”
Noem said she’d had many conversations with the President since taking office, and her most recent was about the Coast Guard.
“He said to me, ‘Kristi,’ as we sat in the Oval Office, ‘what do they need?’ And I said, ‘sir, they need everything. They’ve been neglected for too long. They need cutters, they need airframe. They need infrastructure that supports that. They need training and equipment. They need more coasties out there serving alongside them.’”
She said President Trump told her to give them what they need for their future.
“These needs represent the biggest Coast Guard readiness crisis that we have seen since World War II,” Noem said.
According to Noem, the Coast Guard, like many other military departments, has failed to hit its enlisted workforce numbers until recently, which is why she said she has directed the service to begin its largest transformation since it was established in 1915.
“We call it Force Design 2028, and it is our roadmap to revolutionize the Coast Guard,” she said.
The blueprint for change will focus on four campaigns of people: organization, acquisition, contracting, and technology, she said.
“As part of this campaign, the service will reduce the number of its admirals by 25% so that we can return the decision-making to the front line where it belongs,” Noem said.
She said they will also develop a “high-velocity acquisition and contracting system” to deliver the equipment and resources the service needs.
With countries like China and Russia exploring the Arctic, the Coast Guard’s role in the region has become more critical. But the Trump administration reportedly suggests that the agency lacks the necessary number of polar ice-breaking vessels to conduct its duties, with older vessels nearing the end of their service life, some deemed unfit for duty, and new ships yet to be commissioned.
Noem concluded by naming the new leadership of the Coast Guard and charged the cadets with modernizing the force.
“These leaders have the full faith and trust of me,” she said. “They have the full faith and trust of the President of the United States, and I’m certain that they will not let us down.”